


someone onto whom you can cling

by mysilenceknot



Series: stars are magic, life is tragic [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aftercare, Light BDSM, M/M, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 17:42:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10470516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysilenceknot/pseuds/mysilenceknot
Summary: They look up and smiles at him, warm eyes behind rounded glasses. Cisco smiles back.“Hi,” this other Cisco Ramon says, “we haven’t met, have we.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> The multiverse is a wild place. This fic is more word building than anything else, ngl. It takes place around episode 3x06. Title comes from [Sleepsong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cuR_Vi6vas) by Bastille. I guess Bastille is the band I'm basing all of these titles on?

It’s gotten to the point where sometimes Cisco jumps because he’s so tired of the people in his life.

Not everyone, of course. Iris, Caitlin, Wally... all wonderful. Joe’s been pretty okay to spend time with lately. But goddamn Barry Allen and goddamn HR are just way too much to have to spend time with every day - for two different reasons but still.

Maybe one day he’ll be able to spend extensive time with Barry again. And maybe one day Barry will do more than give him those sad eyes and actually acknowledge how badly he fucked up and apologize for it without turning into a self-guilt trip.

Anyways.

If Cisco had a real therapist, they’d probably tell him that he needed to face his problems head on instead of avoiding everything and living in an escapist pattern. But instead, he was relying on a support group for the loss of a loved one, talking to Caitlin and Iris and Wally about the loss of a loved one, and spending time with Reverb to talk about everything outside of the loss of a loved one.

 

* * *

 

He rarely jumps during the daytime. Life as part of a superhero team is busy and for whatever reasons metas tend to decide to strike during the daytime. For attention? Whatever, it doesn’t matter, he usually jumps in the evening or night. Barry’s living with him, and Barry’s usually home during the later hours of the day, so he tries to jump when Barry’s not around. Not because he really cares that Barry knows he’s leaving the universe, but after the first time Barry confronted him about leaving, he doesn’t really want risk another one of those conversations.

 

* * *

 

It’s a slow day in Central City. As in, there’s nothing for the Flash to do and there’s nothing that needs Cisco’s urgent attention, so he asks Caitlin if she’s okay with him taking a mental health day. She gives him a smile and asks him to come back safely.

There had been a night a few weeks back where the two of them were hanging out at her place and he’d confessed to her that he was doing interdimensional travel. The conversation wasn’t necessarily... a good one. But as far as he knew she’d kept her promise to keep his activities secret. He was willing to take it. 

Cisco went back to his apartment and open a portal. He glanced at the clock - one pm - and transported himself to Reverb’s living room.

 

* * *

 

Reverb was the only doppleganger he knew. There was a point where Cisco considered checking out the other universes with Barry, taking a trip to discover the infinite universes that surrounded them. But. At this point that wasn’t an option, and Reverb didn’t ever mention having any sort of involvement with other versions of Francisco Ramon, so Cisco didn’t really think too much about the other Earths.

When Cisco lands in the living room, he’s startled to see another version of himself casually sitting on a couch, legs crossed and reading a magazine.

They look up and smile at him, warm eyes behind rounded glasses. Cisco smiles back.

“Hi,” this other Cisco Ramon says, “we haven’t met, have we.”

“No, we haven’t. I’m --” Cisco pauses. They have the same name and the same face, of course this doppleganger knows who he is. He laughs; his double laughs.

“It’s okay. What universe are you from?”

“Earth-1,” Cisco says, knowing that that was the wrong answer. Weren’t each of them technically from an ‘Earth-1′? It’s not like the universe he was from was necessarily the first one. And wow, he didn’t know if this version was from Jay Garrick’s Earth, which they called ‘Earth-3,′ so that also wouldn’t work.

“Hmm,” the other Cisco said. “The rest of us actually declare where we’re from according to the gravitational forces of our Earths. So for example, this Earth is 9.789, I’m from Earth 9.812, and you’re from Earth...”

“9.807.”

“Cool!” They broke out into a huge grin. “Although, we totally call each other different first names, or nicknames. I go by Kiko. I use they/them pronouns.”

“Kiko,” Cisco repeated. “That’s pretty cool. I go by Cisco and use he/him pronouns, but Reverb insists on calling me _Francisco_.”

Kiko laughed again and Cisco couldn’t help but smile in response. It was amazing to see a doppleganger that was still so bright, almost carefree in how they moved. They didn’t have the jadedness that surrounded Reverb, nor did they seem to be putting on a persona to hide how their life weighed down their mood. “Reverb’s kind of an asshole so I’m not surprised that he’d do that.”

“How many other versions of us have you met? And have you gone to other universes to find them?”

“Oh man, I’d have to think about that.” Kiko counted on their fingers. “Earth-9.989 actually goes by Francisco, and so does Earth-9.022. Earth-9.567 goes by Franciscus, Earth-9.811 goes by Echo, and Earth-9.601 is tacky and actually goes by Frank.” Kiko rolled their eyes. “I can’t stand him.”

Cisco sat next to Kiko, amazed as Kiko listed off the people that they’d met and the people they’d heard of. It took a while for Kiko to get to his second question.

“And yes, I’ve gone to several other universes. We don’t exist on some of them and we’re dead on others. It’s... it’s kind of cool but also kind of sad to explore.” For the first time the exuberant energy around Kiko dimmed. Cisco spoke again.

“Reverb hasn’t told me about any of this.”

Kiko shrugged. “Did you ever really ask?”

“Yeah, and then he started bragging about how we’re the most power beings in the multiverse in each version of ourselves and I dropped it.”

A smile from Kiko again. “He has a point but he’s... excessive about it.”

“Where is he?” Cisco finally asked. The pair had been chatting for almost ten minutes and while this time he hadn’t traveled to Earth-2, no, Earth-9.789, specifically for sex, it was really weird for Reverb to be away without giving any sort of indication that he’d be back soon.

Kiko’s smile turned into a devious grin. “I’d make the joke ‘he’s all tied up at the moment,’ if you know what I mean.” They stood up, and Cisco could see that their long hair was contained in a french braid, hair much longer than Cisco had ever wanted to grow it out. The braid swished as Kiko walked to the kitchen; Cisco followed.

“I come about once every two weeks to see Reverb. I guess he doesn’t click with the other ones in a way that lets him give up control.”

Cisco blinked. Kiko offered him a glass of juice, then leaned against the counter.

“He doesn’t really share what he does with other people, but I know that I’m the only one who ever doms him at this point.”

“Wait, he’s --”

“A switch? Technically, yes.” Kiko shrugged. “I mean, we’re all different people, so we have different likes, and it’s only a handful of us who are even interested in that type of dynamic, but does it really shock you? Especially considering he always emphasizes how similar we all are?”

This was hard for Cisco to wrap his mind around. Not because he felt like these categories were innate aspects of their personalities, nor because the concept of switching was that odd. With Barry - and oh god why was he thinking of Barry in a moment like this - there was a fluidity in his dynamic with Cisco but more rigidity in how he and Iris would play. It’s just...

“He’s never made it seem like he would want that.”

“Not from you, maybe. But,” and Kiko tilted their head after taking a drink from their glass, “you two have sex, right?”

Cisco felt himself blush just a little bit, despite literally talking to a doppleganger who was domming one of their other doppergangers. He didn’t actually have anything to be embarrassed by. And yet he felt transparent under Kiko’s gaze.

“Yeah, we do.”

“And I don’t have sex with him. Actually, I don’t have sex with any of our doubles.” Kiko smiled again. “See? We’re different people. With often similar interests.” Kiko’s watch hummed. They looked down and pressed a button on the side. “I have to get back to him, it’ll be just a second.”

“Oh, okay.” Cisco shifted awkwardly. “I can leave if you need me to.”

“No, no! You’re completely fine.” Kiko thought for a moment before adding, “if you want, I can ask if he’d be okay with you watching through the end of our scene.”

“Yes,” Cisco responded without a second thought. It’d be interesting to see Reverb, who existed with a constant confident, powerful, intimidating persona, in a different way. Softer? Overwhelmed? Needy?

“Nice. Just give me one second.” With that, Kiko left the kitchen and headed towards the bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Cisco sat quietly on the bed. He wasn’t part of the scene so while he was allowed to talk and touch, he had decided that he wouldn’t unless they wanted him to. He wanted to observe how Kiko worked, what their style of domination was.

Reverb was kneeling in one corner of the room, blindfolded and completely naked. His arms were bound behind his back with a blue chord which was tied to the rope keeping his feet tightly together. He whined when Kiko began running their fingers through his hair and bit back a groan when Kiko tightened their grip to pull his head back.

“Are you ready to be nice now? Or are you going to make you leave you here alone again?”

“I’ll be good Thon, I promise I’ll be good.”

Kiko went back to gently playing with Reverb’s hair. “Do you feel like you still deserve to be punished for how you were behaving earlier?” Reverb shifted slightly in the restraints. It seemed like he was trying not to lean into Kiko’s hand.

“I’ll receive whatever punishment you see fit, Thon.”

Kiko smiled, and looked directly at Cisco. “Since we have a guest, I’ll give you a lighter punishment than I would have otherwise. Say ‘thank you, Cisco.’”

Cisco’s breath caught as Reverb faced him directly despite the black cloth still covering his eyes. “Thank you, Cisco.” It was the first time Reverb had ever referred to him by his preferred name, and Cisco realized that he was actually used to being called Francisco by this man. This didn’t feel wrong, but it felt completely outside of the standard dynamic he he had with Reverb. Cisco spoke.

“You’re welcome, Reverb.”

 

* * *

 

It was remarkable to watch Kiko work. They moved very fluidly and naturally. There wasn’t the sturdy, overwhelming power that shifted around Reverb during a scene. Instead it was almost like Kiko was following a routine, a series of actions that were part of themself. They’d used their powers for a little bit, pushing vibrations into various areas on Reverb’s body until he gave sharp cries of pain. Now Cisco watched in awe as they swung a paddle against Reverb’s ass, a steady rhythm as they counted out each swing.

Kiko paused after twenty, stepping back from the wall where Reverb was diligently standing. “Normally I’d have him count each hit during a punishment,” Kiko explained, “but he’s going down much faster than he usually does and I don’t think it’s necessary to make him focus on what’s happening.”

Cisco nodded silently. Reverb’s chest was heaving. His leaning weight was supported against the wall on his bound forearms, and his legs were spread apart. Cisco was impressed at his self control; during the paddling he hadn’t jerked his body away or moved either of his feet to step away from what was happening. He’d lifted up on the balls of his feet during particularly heavy hits and eventually leaned his head forward to press against the wall, but even now he stayed in the position Kiko and put him in.

Kiko moved back to Reverb and reached down to squeeze at his ass. The skin was beginning to show the beginnings of bruising, some areas darker than the others. Reverb moaned at the touch and shifted back. Kiko stepped away.

“Color?”

“Green, it’s green, please --”

Kiko cut off Reverb’s plea with another hit of the paddle. After they’d hit a grand total of fifty hits, they dropped the paddle and immediately pulled Reverb back from the wall. Hands quickly untied the blindfold before they turned Reverb to face them. They untied his wrists and removed the rope that wound up to his elbows. That knot was loosened last. Reverb seemed to sag as the ropes dropped from his body.

“Cisco,” Kiko said, carefully walking Reverb to the bed, "he needs a lot of touch in aftercare. Are you comfortable with being involved with that?”

“Yes.” Cisco shifted so he was no longer in the center of the bed and once Reverb climbed onto the bed, Cisco began combing his fingers through Reverb’s hair. Reverb had started crying about halfway through the punishment, the silent yet heavy crying that Cisco knew well. He wasn’t breathing heavily as he lay next to Cisco’s sitting form, but the tears hadn’t stopped. He was silent: the opposite of Cisco at the end of a scene. Reverb reached out to touch Cisco’s thigh, needing another point of contact as Kiko pulled their supplies out. They carefully rubbed lotion into Reverb’s ass and upper thighs, making gentle shushing noises whenever Reverb whimpered with pain.

“Hey, you need to sit up for me,” Kiko said, sitting next to Reverb on the opposite side of Cisco. “Come on, you need to drink this.”

Reverb hadn’t stopped crying and he groaned as he sat up on the bed. Cisco removed his hand from Reverb’s hair but Reverb caught his wrist as he moved it to his lap. “Don’t stop,” Reverb pleaded, tears streaking his face. “Please don’t stop.”

It was amazing seeing Reverb in a state of vulnerability, and Cisco nodded at the request, moving his hand back into Reverb’s hair. Reverb turned to face Kiko who had watched the pair’s interaction with a soft smile. “Are you ready to come back to me?” they asked, and Reverb gave the smallest of nods.

“My darling. After you drink this you can go to sleep, okay?”

“Okay.” Reverb took the glass and drank it slowly. When he was finished, he passed it back to Kiko and lied back down. “Can you?” he asked before pausing. Both Cisco and Kiko stared at him and he bit his lip and clenched his eyes tightly. He was slightly shivering; Kiko grabbed a fluffly blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over Reverb. “Can you both stay?”

“Oh,” Cisco breathed. He wasn’t that shocked that Reverb was okay with him watching - hello, voyeurism kink - but he was surprised that Reverb was okay with him seeing Reverb this vulnerable. It meant that Reverb trusted him more than he’d let on.

“Are you okay with that, Cisco?” Kiko asked.

“Yeah, I actually am.”

“Then we’ll both be here, Reverb.” Kiko climbed up the bed so they were right next to Reverb; Cisco followed suit. Reverb’s tears were slowing and he sighed when Kiko held him in an embrace from behind. Cisco moved in front of Reverb, gently brushing away the remaining tear tracks covering Reverb’s face. Reverb gave him a small smile and reached out to hold Cisco’s other hand with his own. It didn’t take long for Reverb’s tears to stop, his eyes to close, his breaths to slow as he fell asleep.

Cisco watched the sleeping man for a few minutes. He always looked calmest in sleep, his rough exterior melting away into relaxation. And granted, there were a few nights where Cisco’d awake to see Reverb’s face pinched in the throes of a nightmare, but more often than not sleep was the best escape from the horrors of reality.

After a while Cisco checked the analog watch he made sure to bring whenever he traveled to this universe. He knew it was time for him to go back to his own horrifying reality. He watched Reverb sleeping for a few more moments before separating their hands and sitting up. Kiko glanced up at him, but didn’t move away from Reverb as Cisco slowly slipped out of bed.

“You leaving?” they whispered.

“Yeah, sorry.” Cisco made his way to Kiko’s side of the bed. They were braiding Reverb’s hair, one long french braid on one side of his hair that divided his head completely in half. Cisco recognized that braid - he’d seen Reverb with a pair of french braids a few times in the last several months.

“It’s my way of leaving my own physical mark after his bruises heal,” Kiko explained. They got to the end of the braid before slowly sitting up. “It was really nice to meet you, Cisco.”

“Likewise.” He was sad to have to leave so soon. “Will we be able to see each other again?”

“I’ll talk to Reverb about it, we’ll definitely figure something out.” Kiko opened their arms; Cisco leaned into their embrace.

“We really need to figure out multiverse texting,” Cisco said. He felt Kiko chuckle against his shoulder.

“Seriously. Randomly showing up and hoping for the best is kind of ridiculous. But maybe one day you’ll be comfortable with visiting me, or letting me visit you.”

Cisco hadn’t expressed his discomfort with stepping outside of this universe, but it seemed like Kiko could look right through him and figure out what he was hiding more quickly than even Reverb did. He pulled out of their embrace and gave them a smile. “Until next time.”

“Until next time.”

 

* * *

 

It appeared that he hadn’t missed anything notable in his time away. Cisco returned to Star Labs and listened to Caitlin ramble about whatever new medical process she was testing. He felt warm, a warmth that lifted him in a way visits to Earth-2 - Earth-9.789 - didn’t quite give him. Cisco let his mind drift into thoughts of how the other Francisco Ramon’s were doing. He hoped they’d wondered about him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd wanted each Earth to be named after the frequency of the gravitational waves, but after ten minutes of research I realized that 1. the two gravitational waves that LIGO has managed to measure had different peak frequencies and 2. there's are multiple reasons that I'm glad I switched majors before I had to take quantum chemistry.  
> The honorific 'thon' that Kiko chooses to use is actually one of the earliest recognized gender neutral pronouns.  
> There are several variations on the name Francisco and I tried to choose ones that were believable based on what we know of Cisco Ramon. 'Kiko' isn't as common as Pacho or Cisco, but I see Kiko as pretty genderfluid and it fits them.
> 
> I'm lemonyandbeatrice on Tumblr if you want to talk abt the multiverse.


End file.
